Chronicle photo/Darren BreenCars travel southwest along Webster Avenue, which was reopened after being converted from a one-way to a two-way street. So far, traffic traveling northeast has been light.

"I'm in my house and I'm waiting for that first crash," laughed Mary Jo McCann, of 461 W. Webster. "When it happens, I hope it's not me."

Fortunately, there weren't any during the first 24 hours after Muskegon and Webster avenues -- long the main artery through the downtown -- reverted to the two-way streets they were 50 years ago.

Not that there wasn't a fair amount of confusion among many motorists encountering the vastly altered 12-block stretch, marked by stop signs at either end, for the first time.

"Early in the day we had quite a few people running (through) the newly installed stop signs because they're not used to seeing them," said Capt. Mark Lewis of the Muskegon Police Department.

Mohammed Al-Shatel, the city engineer, said he too noticed "tons of people" blowing through the stop signs through the morning. A lot of them were talking on cell phones, he said.

Late in the morning, Al-Shatel asked police to station cruisers at the two most critical intersections -- one at Muskegon and Ninth Street, and the other at Webster and Spring Street. At those two points -- depending on which end motorists approach -- traffic shifts from one-way to two-way operation for incoming traffic.

Al-Shatel said the stop signs at those points aren't necessarily there to stay. They were put there to give drivers a chance to adjust to the new reality rather than spreading out as usual into what could be oncoming traffic.

"We were trying to avoid head-on collisions or near-misses," he said.

"As soon as they can adjust to that, we'll probably take them out."

Meanwhile, Capt. Lewis advised: "The only thing people have to do is keep their eyes open and expect something different."

Another change motorists approaching the downtown from the north are discovering is that the timing of the traffic signal at Webster and Shoreline has been changed to discourage them from proceeding up Webster.

Al-Shatel said that light will stay red for 60 seconds -- allowing more time for drivers on Shoreline Drive to get through on their way northward. it will be green for only 20 seconds.

There is no signal to stop incoming drivers from heading right onto Shoreline Drive, which is now the official U.S. 31 Business Route through the downtown area.

McCann, a longtime resident of Webster Avenue, was enjoying seeing something she had never viewed before -- only two lanes of traffic running between parking lanes on either side of her street, instead of four lanes barreling out of town in one direction.

Having been a member of the "Turnback Committee" that fought for years for the return of Muskegon and Webster avenues to normal two-way traffic, McCann said, "I'm absolutely delighted. We're glad the city was able to do this."

"We're all hoping that a year from now the two streets will be more like residential streets that blend into the downtown, and that people who have been using it simply to commute will have forgotten how easy it was."

Even with all the traffic, people living in the area have always been close-knit, though they sometimes had to use some basic hand signals to make themselves heard over the roar of the traffic.

That closeness will now be greatly enhanced, and the positive effects of the change should spread through the entire downtown area, she said.

Paul A. Gilbert, of 483 W. Muskegon, said he moved downtown two years ago for its heritage aspects, which tended to override the fact that there was no on-street parking, and the constant noise of from the traffic that rolls past his house.

"The trucks roll 24⁄7," he said. "I think this is going to slow down some of the truck traffic, or reroute it closer to the lake."

His house is one of those that, due to the inclusion of a left-turn lane, does not have parking directly in front.

Still, the nearest parking spot is a 11⁄2 car lengths away, which is still better than having no parking at all.